Domènec Balmanya i Perera (; 29 December 1914 – 14 February 2002), also referred to as Domingo Balmaña, was a former Spanish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and manager who spent most of his playing career at

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

. As a manager, he guided

CF Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded in 1899 by ...

to the a

Copa del Generalísimo The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanish f ...

win in 1957. He then had moderately successful spells at

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

and

CD Málaga Club Deportivo Málaga was a Spanish football club based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It played twenty seasons in La Liga, before being dissolved in 1992. History Origins The first football club in Málaga was establ ...

before he guided

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

to a

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

title in 1966. He subsequently managed

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

between 1966 and 1968. After retiring as a coach he worked as a director of sport at both

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

and FC Barcelona and as a director at a Catalan coaching school. He also worked as a radio commentator.

Playing career

Born in

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, before joining

, Balmanya began his playing career with his hometown club,

Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional Football team, football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 ...

. He made his

debut with Barça on November 10, 1935, under coach Patrick O'Connell, in a 1–0 defeat to

. During his time at Barcelona he played 111 games for the club in various competitions and among his early teammates were Joan Josep Nogués, Josep Escolà and Enrique Fernández. During his debut season, 1935–36, he helped the club win the Campionat de Catalunya and reach the

Copa de España The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanish f ...

final. During the following season, 1936–37, national football was suspended because of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. However Barcelona and other clubs in the Republican area of Spain competed in the

Mediterranean League The Mediterranean League, also referred to as the Lliga Mediterrània (Catalan language, ''Catalan''), the Liga Mediterránea (Spanish language, ''Spanish'') or La Liga del Mediterráneo, was a football (soccer), football league played in the Secon ...

and Balmanya and O’Connell helped the club win this title. In 1937 Barcelona, including Balmanya, Escolà and O’Connell, went on a fund raising tour to Mexico and the United States. The club played fourteen games and opponents included

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

, Atlante F.C.,

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...

and a Mexican XI. In the United States, FC Barcelona played in and won a tournament against a ''Brooklyn XI'', a ''New York XI'' and a ''Hebrew XI'' and then played a USA XI. In financial terms this tour saved the club, but O’Connell returned to Spain with only four players. The remaining players went into exile with Balmanya and Escolà joining

FC Sète FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pak ...

in France. After the

ended in 1939, the Francoist government imposed a six-year ban on any exiled sportsmen returning to Spain. However Enrique Piñeyro, the president of Barcelona, campaigned in favour of several of the club's players and Balmanya and Escolà returned from exile in 1941. During their first season back, Barça, with Joan Josep Nogués as coach, narrowly avoided being relegated after winning a play-off against

Real Murcia Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

. Despite this however the club managed to win the

, beating

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

4–3 after extra time. Between 1935 and 1944, Balmanya also played 4 games for the Catalan XI. On 19 January 1936, at the ''Les Corts'', he played in a testimonial for

Josep Samitier Josep Samitier Vilalta (; 2 February 1902 – 4 May 1972), also known as José Samitier, was a Spanish football player, manager and scout who played as a midfielder for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, OGC Nice, the Catalan XI, and Spain. He later ...

against SK Sidenice of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. Other players in the Catalan XI that day included Sagibarba

Coaching career

Balmanya subsequently followed Nogués to

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

where he both finished his playing career and began his coaching career when he succeeded Nogués as coach in 1949. However his first appointment as coach ended in disappointment as Gimnástic were relegated in 1950. After spells at both

and

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

, Balmanya found his first taste of success at

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

when he guided them to second place in Segunda División, Group 1 in 1955. However Real missed out on promotion after finishing only third in a play-off group. Balmanya served as coach at

for two seasons between 1956 and 1958. With a squad including Velasco, Joan Segarra, Ramallets,

Ladislao Kubala Ladislao is a given name, a Hispanic variant of Vladislav. Notable people with the name include: * Ladislao Cabrera, Bolivian hero during the War of the Pacific * Ladislao Diwa, Filipino patriot * Ladislao Martínez, Puerto Rico musician * Lás ...

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

and

Evaristo Evaristo is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Evaristo Avalos (born 1933), Mexican equestrian * Evaristo Barrera (1911–1982), Argentine football striker * Evaristo Baschenis (1617–1677), Ital ...

, he won the

in 1957. However, during his two seasons with Barcelona, they finished third in

on both occasions and in 1958 he was replaced by

Helenio Herrera Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentina, Argentine and naturalised France, French association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. He is best remembered for his success ...

. After two seasons in France with

, Balmanya returned to

to take charge of

in 1960 and in 1961 he helped them win their own summer trophy, the ''Trofeo Naranja''. Guest player

Sándor Kocsis Sándor Péter Kocsis (; ; 21 September 1929 – 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian Association football, footballer who played for Ferencvárosi TC, Budapest Honvéd FC, Budapest Honvéd, SC Young Fellows Juventus, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelo ...

scored in both games as Valencia beat

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

and Barcelona. He also guided the club to the 1962 Fairs Cup final. However the original final date clashed with the 1962 World Cup and was postponed. By the time the final was eventually played, Balmanya had moved on and he missed out on the club's 6–3 aggregate win over Barcelona. During the 1963–64 season Balmanya was coach at

and he guided the club to third place in

. He then coached

for the 1964–65 season, helping them win promotion after they finished runners-up in Segunda División, Group 2 and then beat

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

in a play-off. He was then appointed coach at

for the 1965–66 season and with a squad that included Enrique Collar,

Miguel Jones Miguel Jones Castillo (; 27 October 1938 – 8 April 2020) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for SD Indautxu and Atlético Madrid during the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Although born in Spanish Guinea, now known as Equatoria ...

, Adelardo and

Luis Aragonés Luis Aragonés Suárez (; 28 July 1938 – 1 February 2014) was a Spanish football player and manager. Aragonés spent the majority of his career as a player and coach at Atlético Madrid. He was a prominent player and then coach of the succes ...

he won his only

title. These successes saw him appointed coach of

and between 1966 and 1968 he was in charge of the national side for 11 games.

Honours

Player

: 1942, runners-up 1936 *

: 1937 * Campionat de Catalunya: 1935–36 * New York Tournament: 1937

Manager

Real Oviedo * Segunda División, Group 1: runners-up 1955 Barcelona *

: 1957 Valencia * Trofero Naranja: 1961 Málaga * Segunda División, Group 2: runners-up 1965 Atlético Madrid * Spanish Champions: 1966

References

Bibliography

* Jimmy Burns
''Barça: A People's Passion'' (1998).

External links

* *
Coach stats at Cadistas1910
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmanya, Domenec 1914 births 2002 deaths Footballers from Girona Men's association football midfielders Spanish men's footballers La Liga players FC Barcelona players FC Sète 34 players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Girona FC managers UE Sant Andreu footballers Girona FC players Spanish football managers Spain national football team managers Gimnàstic de Tarragona managers Real Zaragoza managers Real Oviedo managers FC Barcelona managers FC Sète 34 managers Valencia CF managers Real Betis managers CD Málaga managers Atlético Madrid managers Cádiz CF managers UE Sant Andreu managers La Liga managers Expatriate football managers in France Spanish expatriate football managers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in France Catalonia men's international footballers 20th-century Spanish sportsmen